The EGF receptor (EGFR) is a 170 kDa type 1 transmembrane molecule. Its expression is found to be upregulated in many human tumors including carcinoma of the head and neck, breast, colon, prostate, lung, and ovaries. The degree of over-expression is correlated to poor clinical prognosis (Baselga, et al. (1994) Pharmac. Therapeut. 64:127-154; Modjtahedi, et al. (1994) Int. J. Oncology 4:277-296). Furthermore, its expression is frequently accompanied by the production of EGFR-ligands, TGF-α and EGF among others, by EGFR-expressing tumor cells which suggests that an autocrine loop participates in the progression of these cells (Baselga, et al. (1994) Pharmac. Therapeut. 64:127-154; Modjtahedi, et al. (1994) Int. J. Oncology. 4:277-296). Blocking the interaction between such EGFR ligands and EGFR therefore can inhibit tumor growth and survival (Baselga, et al. (1994) Pharmac. Therapeut. 64:127-154).
Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed to the ligand-binding domain of EGFR can block the interaction with EGF and TGF-α and, concomitantly, the resultant intracellular signaling pathway. Several murine monoclonal antibodies have been generated which achieve such a block in vitro and which have been evaluated for their ability to affect tumor growth in mouse xenograft models (Masui, et al (1986) Cancer Res. 46: 5592-5598; Masui, et al. (1984) Cancer Res. 44: 1002-1007; Goldstein, et al. (1995) Clin. Cancer Res. 1: 1311-1318). When administered one day after the human tumor cells, most of the anti-EGFR MAbs were efficacious in preventing tumor formation in athymic mice (Baselga, et al. (1994) Pharmac. Therapeut. 64:127-154). However, when injected into mice bearing established human tumor xenografts, these murine MAbs (e.g., MAbs 225s and 528) caused only partial tumor regression. Co-administration of chemotherapeutic agents was needed to fully eradicate the tumors (Baselga, et al. (1994) Pharmac. Therapeut. 64:127-154; Fan, et al. (1993) Cancer Res. 53: 4322-4328; Baselga, et al. (1993) J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 85: 1327-1333).
Therefore, while the results obtained to date clearly establish EGFR as a target for immunotherapy, they also show that murine antibodies do not constitute ideal therapeutic agents. Moreover, treatment with murine antibodies generally triggers severe immune reactions in patients. To circumvent the immunogenicity of mouse antibodies, therapeutics should ideally be fully human. As a step towards this goal, a chimeric version of the 225 MAb (C225), in which the mouse antibody variable regions are linked to human constant regions, has been developed. While C225 exhibited an improved anti-tumor activity in the treatment of established xenograft tumors in vivo, this was only achieved at high doses (Goldstein, et al. (1995) Clin. Cancer Res. 1:1311-1318). Currently C225 is being evaluated in clinical trials for treatment of various types of solid tumors (Baselga, J. (2000) J. Clin. Oncol. 18: 54S-59S; Baselga, J. (2000) Ann. Oncol. 11 Suppl 3: 187-190, 2000).
Accordingly, the need exists for improved therapeutic antibodies against EGFR which are effective at treating and/or preventing diseases related to overexpression of EGFR when administered at low dosages, and which do not elicit immune reactions in patients. As described above, monoclonal antibodies (MAb) play a prominent role in many diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to diseases and have become even more attractive agents with the recent advent of technologies that allow development of fully human antibodies. Antibodies and antibody derivatives constitute twenty five percent of biological drugs currently under development and many of these are being developed as cancer therapeutics. Antibodies combine target specificity with the capacity to effectively engage the immune system. The combination of these properties and their long biological half-life alerted researchers to the therapeutic potential of antibodies. This has recently culminated in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of several antibodies for cancer treatment.